Shelly’s Client Reviews

“Shelly did a very good job. We have been in her 4H group for 4 years and just getting into agility. This was very helpful to get started. Everyone starting agility should take it.” – Anne W. and her Vizsla Bullet reviewing their Dog Sport Foundations class with Shelly

Denise and Gunner

“Shelly does a lot of research and she always has something new for us to work on. I really enjoy her classes and learn something each week.” – Denise K. and her Border Collie Gunner, reviewing their Intermediate Agility class with Shelly

“This was a great class! Great curriculum and lots of things to learn. It is so great to have a class like this in the Rochester area. For those of us into dog sports and not able to travel to the metro for training, this new class addition is wonderful.” – Denise K. and her Border Collie/Australian Shepherd cross Ozzie, reviewing their Dog Sport Foundations class with Shelly

Lisa and Walter

“Both instructors were great! They were well prepared and very knowledgable, they were able to help me in several areas that I was struggling in with my puppy. I loved that we got individual one on one time in this class, it really helped with making the class work for our individual needs. This was the fourth class I took with my new pup and it has been one of the most beneficial by far. Both the trainers and the content were great and I have seen a noticeable difference in my pups ability to focus in exciting situations and recovery quicker when stressed by minor interactions. The games and relaxation protocol we learned are helping us to have an attentive well behaved pup in situations where we previously had a lovely but super excited and unfocused pup. We might take this class again just to continue with the positiveprogress we saw but I have already seen improvements in our day to day life.” -Lisa C. and her Irish Wolfhound Walter reviewing their Beginning Focus & Control class with Carrie & Shelly

“Shelly is wonderful and flexible and kind and so talented. Her outdoor set up at her farm is awesome! The upstairs at Rochester Feed Store works great for colder months. We love the flexible schedule, check-ins, ability to work with my 14 year old as a junior handler or myself based on our availability, support at competitions, and ongoing help and advice. Shelly is always reachable and very in tune and caring about me and my dog.” -Amy J. and her Havanese Moxie reviewing their private agility lessons with Shelly

“Shelly was able to make a private home visit work within a week of me contacting her to work on behavioral issues. She covered a ton and gave me lots of homework which is great. I think you do an excellent job and I refer you whenever I can to anyone that asks or gets a new dog. Keep up the great work!” -Amy J. and her Havanese Moxie reviewing their private behavior consult with Shelly

“I had never done home training before, just community ed classes with a different dog years ago. I did not know what to expect. This went beyond my wildest expectations and was an extremely positive experience. Shelly has an incredible communication ability and brought everything we needed, plus written materials for the overall program and specific training advice. She was wonderful to our dog who had a lot of stress and nervousness being a rescue dog from a hoarding house in Kentucky. Shelly clearly is an expert with training dogs and being around animals. She never shamed or judged us for how we had been doing, she stayed positive and complemented the good things about our dog. She was incredibly generous, even loaning us a CD to learn about gentle leaders. Every week now I have learned more and feel better about our dog’s good qualities. By our second session he was much calmer and more comfortable with her in our house.

“I found Paws Abilities through a dear friend who does agility training. She gave us her highest recommendations. I found the website to be very clear, interesting, and easy to navigate. When requesting a private trainer, I emailed a summary of our animal’s situation. I received a response immediately from the office telling me that there was a wonderful person possibly available. By 10pm I received a very positive “yes” from the trainer and we worked out the times. I had no expectations for a dog trainer, only worry that it might be judgmental and regimented. My worries were all for nothing. Shelly comes in with great confidence and compassion with a huge bag of all the things needed for dog training. We saw almost magical progress our first session. She was able to work even with some busy-ness around our house from other family members.

“This was a big leap of faith for me since I had not tried anything like this before. Due to illness I could not take our dog to classes and I don’t think he could handle them at this time anyway. I feel like we received an answer – almost a miracle – which we needed to take good care of our puppy and calm the whole house down from his behaviors that needed help. We were at a loss and now we have a clear, compassionate and humane response. We have a complex family system with my serious illness and a child with autism and a busy husband working and two other boys and now this puppy +3 cats. I honestly worried that there was nothing we could do, that we were in over our head. Now this puppy is becoming a beautiful companion for all of us. We will be forever grateful for this amazing connection we have made.” – Sue C. and her Border Collie/Lab cross Chewie, reviewing their private training lessons with Shelly

Kristin and Cooper

“We received clear direct instruction with good feedback on when we were performing activity right or not. Shelly and Denise did a nice job working as a team with the participants. Your instructors are dedicated, experts in what they do, go the extra mile and work collaboratively. This class was FUN!!!!! It makes me think about going on to try this as a dog sport activity. Prior to this class I had not considered agility as an option for us.” -Kristin S. and her Border Terrier Cooper reviewing their Dog Sports Foundation class with Shelly and Denise

“Shelly was organized, knowledgeable, and experienced. She pointed out behaviors that I had not noticed that contribute to the problem. This has been extremely helpful in changing his behaviors in a positive way.” -Barbara H. and her English Bulldog Nigel reviewing their private behavior consultation with Shelly

“Shelly did her best to inform and prepare us for testing. The information about upcoming classes and their focus was great. I most appreciated the practice visit she arranged. I wasn’t expecting that when I signed up. A real bonus! I felt very well prepared when I took my ATD test, just days after the course ended. Rio and I have completed our supervised visits and can now be registered as a team, and the ease with which we managed to do that was due in part to the course.” -Kelly S. and her Shetland Sheepdog Rio, reviewing their Therapy Dog Prep Course with trainer Shelly

“Shelly did a great job! I would be happy to take another class with her. It was fun and I learned a lot! her assistants were also great. I especially appreciated the field trip – nice to see how your dog does “in the field.” I like that you keep class size limited so that everyone gets attention. You folks do a great job and I recommend your training classes to all my dog friends.” -Mariann O’Keefe and her Lab/Corgi cross Stanley, reviewing their Therapy Dog Prep Course with trainer Shelly

“We were left with more skills to know how to help the new puppy, Earle, learn to crate and eat and find “place.” Also learned ping pong puppy. We were shown skills to help Cooney and Earl focus on us instead of one another and to keep the energy calmer. The time with Shelley was very beneficial. We would highly recommend Shelley to anyone.” -Ann B. with her Coonhound Earle reviewing their private lesson with Shelly

Birk

“Shelly was very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. She addressed the problem, calmed my worries, and helped me make a plan to get the behavior under control.

“Paws Abilities is my favorite dog training resource! I have gone to so many classes and I recommend them to all of my friends! I love the website – especially the blog! Have shared the link many many times.

“The entire experience was really great. I am so confident in choosing Paws Abilities to help with my dog’s education. Everyone has always been so friendly and helpful to me. I feel respected and valued by the whole team, and everyone genuinely cares about my dog and understands his particular quirks. Thank you so much for being such a great resource for me!” – Martha B. and her Pointer cross Birk, reviewing their private training lesson with Shelly

Maxwell

“I think Shelly is great and informative. I like working with her. I am very satisfied with the training my dog has received through your organization!” -Jill F. and her Australian Shepherd Maxwell, reviewing their private agility lessons with Shelly

“New insight on different training methods for Cooper. I’m happy we are taking a slower approach to develop a strong foundation for Cooper. Patient in explaining some methods to me I don’t quite understand. She did a follow up email on different commands to work on prior to next lessons. As well as reiterated what we had worked on in our previous lesson. I enjoyed the atmosphere. Cooper was happy and comfortable.” -Brienne W. and her Golden Retriever/Labrador Retriever cross Cooper, reviewing their private dog sports lesson with Shelly